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Even if it was obvious from his behaviour when they’d met as well as Lucy’s comments that he still was a blatant flirt she liked the way he had taken the time to reassure Tim.
Her thoughts were interrupted as the helicopter touched down on the hospital landing pad. Abby breathed a deep sigh of relief. They had made it!
‘Stick close to me,’ Mac said to Tim after removing the young lad’s helmet.
The helicopter’s rotors hadn’t even stopped when the hospital staff were there to take charge of Jenny. The transfer was quick. Mac and Abby updated the hospital staff as they ran next to the trolley with Tim following closely behind.
‘Thanks, guys. We’ll take it from here,’ the doctor Mac had addressed as Dr Gibson said.
They watched as Jenny disappeared from view.
‘C’mon, Tim. Why don’t we get you a drink or something?’ Abby offered, knowing that now the excitement of the helicopter journey was over the boy would start fretting again. ‘And in the meantime we can try and get your dad on the phone and either me or Dr MacNeil here will speak to him. How does that sound?’
‘Sounds okay. When can I see Mum?’
‘Not for a little while,’ Abby said. ‘But while Dr MacNeil is speaking to your father, I’ll find somewhere where you can wait.’
Tim’s face crumpled. ‘I don’t want to stay on my own. I want my dad.’
Abby felt terrible for the little boy. If something happened to her, she’d hate for Emma to be left alone. But what could they do? They had to get back to the air ambulance base. There could be another call at any time.
But Mac seemed to have his own ideas. ‘Tell you what,’ he said. ‘When I speak to your dad, I’ll suggest you come back with Abby and me to the air ambulance headquarters. How about it? You could have a look around see all the stuff we use. We have some cool things we can do with our computers. I’ll let the staff here know where we are and as soon as they have any news about your mum they can let us know. What do you say?’
Tim’s face brightened. ‘Could I? No one will mind? I promise I won’t get in the way.’
Once more, Abby was pleasantly surprised. Mac could easily have left the child here. After all they had done their job and Tim wasn’t their responsibility. She really had underestimated him. Nothing about him made sense. Her head was beginning to ache. Right now she would have given anything for some time on her own to think, but she had promised Tim a drink while they waited for Mac to speak to his father and do the handover.
Spotting a vending machine against the wall inside the A & E department, Abby scrabbled in her pocket for some change and fed it into the slot. To no avail—the wretched machine stubbornly refused to part with its goods. Banging with the flat of her hand against the side had no effect either.
‘Here, let me help.’ A woman who looked as if she had stepped out of a magazine came across. She fiddled with the machine and a can rolled out.
‘It just takes a certain knack.’ She held out a manicured hand. ‘You must be new. I’m Rebecca O’Hara, my husband Josh is one of the A & E consultants.’
‘Abby Stevens. First day with the Air Ambulance Service.’
‘Pleased to meet you, Abby. Where are you from? I can tell by your accent that you’re not from here.’
‘I’ve been living in London for the last few years.’
‘London?’ Rebecca looked wistful. ‘Don’t you miss it?’
‘I love it here,’ Abby said honestly. She glanced across the room to where an anxious Tim was waiting for her. Although she had the distinct impression Rebecca wanted to chat, Abby didn’t like to leave the boy any longer than she had to.
Just then Mac appeared. ‘Oh, hello, Rebecca.’ He smiled. ‘If you’re waiting to see Josh, I’m afraid he’s up to his neck with patients at the moment.’
Rebecca looked dejected. ‘I’ll have a cup of coffee with the nurses while I’m waiting.’
She turned back to Abby. ‘Lovely to meet you. Perhaps we could have a coffee some time?’ And then with a flutter of slim fingers she headed towards the staffroom.
Back at base, no one seemed particularly surprised to see Tim. Mac gave him the promised tour after which he settled Tim in front of the computers and started explaining how the system worked.
A little while later, Dr Gibson phoned to say that they had sectioned Jenny and although she had lost a great deal of blood, she and her new baby son were going to be fine. Tim was ecstatic about having a brother, but as it was going to be a couple of hours before Jenny would come around properly from the anaesthetic, they decided to keep him with them a bit longer. Tim’s father was on his way to the hospital.
‘I’ll drop Tim back at the hospital later,’ Mac said to Abby. ‘I’m due to do some teaching there this afternoon.’
Abby raised an eyebrow.
‘I keep my hand in at the hospital when we’re not busy. It helps keep me up to date and it only takes me a couple of minutes to get back here if we get a callout.’ He smiled. ‘You don’t fancy a drink later, by any chance? I can tell you all about Penhally.’ His expression was teasing, his eyes glinting.
Abby was horrified to feel a tingle run down her spine. Damn it! Why did she have to find him so damn sexy? Even sexier and better looking than twelve years ago. And the fact that he had a caring side made him all the more attractive. What was she thinking? There was no way she could be attracted to her dead sister’s ex-lover; it was too weird. What was more, she had to remember that Mac was the type of man for whom flirting was as natural as breathing. It didn’t mean anything. Wasn’t the way he’d treated Sara evidence of that?
He was looking at her, waiting for her reply, certain she would say yes. He was so supremely confident she would love to turn him down. And she would have, if it wasn’t for Emma. Her antennae, honed by years of being let down by men just like him, were on red alert. Of all the men in all the world, why did she have to be working with him?
Despite every nerve cell in her brain telling her to keep her distance from this man, for her daughter’s sake, she needed to learn more about him. Emma was going to a friend’s after school and wouldn’t be home until seven. Abby made up her mind.
‘I’ll tell you what,’ she said. ‘I like to go for a walk after work. You can join me if you want.’ She shrugged. ‘It’s up to you.’ Smiling to herself as she saw the look of surprise in his eyes, she whirled on her heel, ignoring the feeling that two blue eyes were watching her speculatively.
Mac watched Abby’s retreating back until she was out of sight. He would have bet a hundred bucks she had been about to turn him down, and her acceptance had taken him by surprise. Not that a walk was what he had in mind and not that he would have let one refusal put him off. In fact, it would have heightened the excitement of the chase. He tried to ignore the unpleasant feeling lurking somewhere deep down that felt uncomfortably like shame. Should he really be going after Abby? Although she intrigued and excited him, there was a certain wariness about her that suggested she had been hurt before, perhaps badly. And then there was the odd way she had kept looking at him during the callout. For someone as experienced as she was supposed to be there was an edginess about her that, while not quite alarming him, concerned him a little.
There was something else about Abby that was niggling him. He could have sworn he had met her before, but he had to be mistaken. He might have been with a lot of women in his life, but he would never have forgotten someone like her.
What was her story anyway? Not that it really mattered. He liked women, enjoyed their company and had a lot of respect for them, but he had no intention of having a long-term relationship with one. Once they made demands on him, he couldn’t help but lose interest. But he was getting way ahead of himself. This was simply a walk with a colleague, albeit a beautiful one. What was the harm in that? Nevertheless, however much he tried to dismiss the feeling of unease, he couldn’t quite shake it. A sixth sense he had relied on all his life was telling him that something extraordinary had arrived in the form of Abby Stevens and he wasn’t sure he liked the feeling one little bit.
CHAPTER THREE
MAC was leaning against the side of a four-by-four, looking relaxed, when Abby eventually emerged at the end of her shift. After changing out of her jumpsuit, she had taken a few moments to put on some lipstick and brush her hair. She told herself that she wasn’t preening herself for Mac, it was simply that she needed the confidence of make-up as well as the time to get her thumping heart rate under control. But she knew deep down that wasn’t the whole truth. Wasn’t there just a tiny part of her that liked it that he had made it clear he was attracted to her? She dismissed the thought immediately. This wasn’t about her. It was about Emma.
Mac was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a white T-shirt under a well-worn leather jacket. His teeth flashed in a wide grin when he saw her. Surely it was anxiety over what she had to tell him that made her stomach flip?
He opened the passenger door of the Jeep with a flourish.
‘There’s an interesting cliff walk about ten minutes’ drive from here. There’s a fantastic fish restaurant nearby. We could have something to eat after our walk and I’ll drive you back here so you can collect your car.’ He paused. ‘Unless you want to leave your car at your house? I could follow you home and we could leave from there. Where is it you live, anyway?’
Something in the way his eyes were glittering made Abby wonder if he was imagining an ending to the evening that included him and her in bed together. Little did he know there was a greater chance of hell freezing over.
‘I’m renting a cottage in Penhally Bay while I look around for a place to buy. But I’d rather follow you in my own car. And as for supper …’ she shook her head ‘ …sorry, I have other plans.’ A walk was one thing, a meal à deux quite another.
Mac frowned and Abby felt a small stab of triumph. He was clearly a man who was used to getting his own way. Well, he’d find out soon enough that she liked having her way, too.
She followed his four-by-four, uncomfortably aware of the anxiety that was coiling in her chest. He had no idea about the bombshell she was soon going to be dropping into his life. For a second she felt sorry for him, but only for a second. Emma was the only person who mattered in this whole sorry mess.
The sun was slipping lower, streaking the sky with gold, but it would be light for another hour or two. There was still a hint of warmth in the air, and the earlier wind had subsided. It was a perfect October evening, with just a hint of summer still.
The hordes of tourists had long since left and there was only one other car in the car park as they parked their cars side by side.
‘The walk I had in mind is a couple of miles each way,’ Mac said. ‘That’s not too far for you, is it?’
‘I like walking,’ Abby said. ‘As long as I’m home for seven.’
She had to walk rapidly to keep up with Mac’s long strides. He glanced down and checked his pace so it matched hers.
‘How are Jenny and the baby doing? ‘ she asked. As promised, Mac had taken Tim back to the hospital where his father had been waiting for him.
Mac frowned. ‘Last I knew, mother and baby were doing fine. Why, did you hear something? ‘ There was no mistaking the concern in his eyes.
‘No, I haven’t heard anything.’ Abby said. ‘I just thought you might have popped in to see her when you were at the hospital.’
Mac looked puzzled. ‘Why would I do that?’
‘Don’t you follow up on your patients? Aren’t you curious to know how everything turned out?’
He shook his head. ‘I treat them, look after them as best I can, then let the hospital staff do their bit. All I care about is giving the best treatment I am capable of. I don’t see the point in getting too involved with patients. We have to know when to let go, so we can move on to the next one.’
Abby was dismayed. Once again it seemed she had got this man wrong. Could he really be as disinterested in his patients as he seemed? Abby couldn’t imagine not following up on her patients. Most of the time, out there on a rescue, she formed a strong bond with the people whose lives depended on her. It was part of who she was.
‘So tell me, what brings you here, to Cornwall and Penhally Bay in particular?’ Mac changed the subject. ‘Someone mentioned you’d been working with the London ambulance service for the last eleven years. What happened? Did you get tired of the big city?’
Anxiety raced along her spine. It was the perfect moment to tell him about Emma, but she wasn’t ready. Not yet. Not until she knew more about him. Once she told him there would be no going back.
‘My daughter needed a change of air,’ Abby said evasively. ‘And I needed a change of scenery.’
‘You have a daughter? I didn’t know.’ He sounded surprised … and regretful.
Abby suspected he wouldn’t have been so keen to ask her out if he’d known she had a child. Most of the men she had dated in the past had reacted the same way. They all backed off when she told them and if they didn’t, her refusal to put them before Emma usually made them give up on her sooner or later. And that was fine. She didn’t need or want a man in her life who couldn’t accept Emma. Not even this one. Particularly not this one.
He flicked his eyes to her left hand again. ‘You don’t wear a ring so I’m guessing you’re not married.’
‘I’m a single mum.’ Let him make of that what he would. He would know the truth soon enough. First she had some questions of her own.
‘What about you? I assume you’re not married?’
‘Nope. Not the marrying kind, I guess.’
‘Children? ‘ Abby held her breath as she waited for his reply.
‘No, none of them either. Not the father kind.’
Little did he know.
‘How long have you worked for the air ambulance? ‘ Abby asked.
‘Two years. I completed my specialist training in anaesthesia, then I did a course in medical emergency retrieval in Glasgow. But unfortunately the surfing conditions aren’t great there, so when I found they were looking for a rescue medic here, I jumped at the chance. It means I can kite board when I’m not working.’
So his sport was as important as his job. Maybe more so. Abby was disappointed. Minute by minute she was having to revise her opinion of the man who was Emma’s father.
‘Although I can tell you’re Scottish from your accent, it doesn’t sound very Glaswegian,’ Abby probed. The more she knew about this man, the better.
‘I was brought up on Tiree. It’s an island off the west coast of Scotland. I lived there until I went to medical school in Glasgow when I was eighteen. I don’t go back to Tiree very often.’ His mouth tightened and as Abby glanced at him she could have sworn she saw anger behind his eyes, but it disappeared so quickly she couldn’t be sure. Did Mac have secrets of his own?
She was about to question him further when he stopped in his tracks. She followed his gaze to see what had caught his attention. To their left, close to the edge, a man was pacing frantically up and down, shouting a boy’s name.
‘Something’s wrong,’ Mac said. ‘I’m going to take a look-see.’
As Mac called out, the man turned to them, relief evident under his panic.
‘It’s my son,’ he said. ‘I can’t find him! One minute he was here, and then the next he was gone. I only meant to close my eyes for a minute, but I must have dropped off. You’ve got to help me find him. He’s only eight.’ The man’s eyes were darting around while he was speaking.
Mac placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘Stay calm and tell me everything. What’s your name?’
‘Dave. My son’s called Luke.’
‘Where did you last see Luke?’
‘He was over there.’ The man pointed behind him. ‘He wanted to go down to the beach but I told him there was no path. I said I’d take him there tomorrow. Oh, my God. What if he tried to go down by himself and fell?’
‘Have you phoned for help?’
‘No, I haven’t had time. I’ve been too busy looking for him.’
Mac’s eyes raked the side of the cliff. Something caught his attention and he stopped and sucked in a breath. Abby followed his gaze. Near the edge, a piece of the cliff had broken away. From the look of it, it had only happened very recently. Seeing the troubled look in Mac’s eyes, she knew he was thinking the same thing. There was a good chance the boy had got too close to the edge and slipped over. If they were right and the boy had fallen, he could be badly hurt, or worse.
‘Abby. Phone 999 and get them to alert the coastguard and the rescue services. Dave, I’m just going to have a look over this cliff and see if I can see him. You stay back, okay?’
Abby touched Dave’s shoulder reassuringly as she used her mobile. It was still possible the boy had wandered off and was nowhere near the cliff but they couldn’t take the chance.
Mac walked close to the cliff then dropped to his stomach to peer over the edge. ‘I think I can see him,’ he called. ‘Is he wearing a red jacket?’
Luke’s father rushed forward. Mac jumped to his feet and barred his way.
‘You have to stay back,’ Mac warned. ‘The edge here is already unstable. If you come any closer you could slip or a bit of the cliff could crumble and fall on your son.
‘I’m going to climb down there and see how he is, okay?’ Mac added quietly.
‘Shouldn’t we wait for the rescue services?’ Abby said. ‘The operator said they shouldn’t be more than ten minutes. If you go down there, you could fall, too.’
Mac dug in his pocket and pulled out his car keys. He tossed them to Dave. ‘Dave, go back to the car park. My car is the Jeep. In the boot you’ll find a red medical case, a rope and a yellow jacket. Could you fetch them? ‘
Dave hesitated and Mac gave him a gentle push. ‘Go! It’s the best way to help Luke. Be as quick as you can.’
As soon as Dave had set off at a run, Mac turned back to Abby. ‘We don’t have time to wait for help.’ While he was talking he had removed his jacket. ‘I’m going to go down. When Dave returns I might need you to lower my medical bag on the end of the rope. Okay?’ He moved towards the cliff.
‘Shouldn’t you at least wait for the rope?’ If Mac fell they would have two victims to rescue. Even in her anxiety, the irony wasn’t completely lost on her. She had just found Emma’s father. If he fell now, Emma might never get to know him.
Mac turned around and grinned. ‘Hey, I was brought up near cliffs. Never met one yet I couldn’t beat. I’ll be okay. As soon as you hear the rescue ‘copter, let off a flare. Keep Dave occupied by telling him to search for a good place for the helicopter to land.’
Before she could protest further, he disappeared over the edge.
Abby’s heart banged against her ribs. What was Mac thinking? Although if it had been Emma down there, she would have gone herself. Fear of heights or not.
